See below for the Manchester City Council press release concerning the proposed Manchester to Chorlton Cycleway.

Ambitious plans for a new Manchester to Chorlton cycleway are being
proposed, Manchester City Council announced today.

The project, set to be delivered in partnership with Trafford Council and
supported by Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), will create a cycling
and pedestrian-friendly route, with large sections of segregation between
cyclists and other traffic, from Chorlton Park to Manchester.

Initial grant funding of £3.9m has already been allocated for the scheme
from the Department for Transport and Manchester City Council is now
working with TfGM and the Cycling and Walking Commissioner for Greater
Manchester, Chris Boardman, to secure further funding – with the aim of
delivering a greatly enhanced ‘exemplar’ scheme for the city region.

Subject to consultation, the proposed 5km route would run along Barlow Moor
Road, Manchester Road, Upper Chorlton Road and Chorlton Road, linking with
existing cycle facilities and on to the city centre.

The new cycleway will be designed using best-practice examples from other
cities with an established cycling culture and will create better areas for
cyclists to wait at junctions, with cycle lanes running behind parking bays
in many locations. Improvements will also be made to crossing points for
cyclists and pedestrians along the route, as part of the proposed scheme.

The Manchester to Chorlton corridor is already one of the busiest for
cycling in Greater Manchester and cycle usage rates in Chorlton are among
the highest in the region. Similar improvements carried out along Wilmslow
Road and Oxford Road in Manchester in recent years have already seen a
significant increase in cycle use in those areas and the proposed major
upgrade to the Chorlton route would be expected to further increase take-up
of cycling in Manchester.

A consultation on the scheme is set to be held in summer 2018, following
the completion of designs. The consultation will allow residents, local
businesses and other interested parties to have their say on the proposals.

Manchester City Council’s Executive Member for the Environment and Skills,
Councillor Angeliki Stogia, said: “The proposed Manchester to Chorlton
cycleway is a major part of our work to create a network of safe,
high-quality cycle routes, promoting cycling as a safer, more accessible
option for as many residents as possible.

“Working closely with Chris Boardman and TfGM, we’ve identified the
opportunity to secure further funding to allow the scope of the scheme to
be widened. This would be a huge boost to our efforts to make cycling part
of our culture – encouraging more residents to choose to cycle to their
schools, shops, work and leisure, while also helping to reduce levels of
noise pollution and improve air quality.”

Chris Boardman said: “What was already set to be a good scheme could now be
a game-changer that will lead the way and allow more school runs, work
trips and leisure outings to be made without cars. Most importantly, it
would make these journeys enjoyable rather than a chore.

“I can’t praise Manchester City Council highly enough for helping us set
the bar high and aiming to bring forward a truly inspiring scheme. I look
forward to working with councils across Greater Manchester to bring forward
similarly ambitious projects.”

Cllr Brian Shaw, Executive Member for Highways, Parks and Environmental
Services at Trafford Council, said: “This is great news and a huge
improvement for cyclists using one of the city’s prime commuter routes. It
is also an important step on the way to making cycling people’s preferred
choice of transport for many more journeys in the area.

“We’re committed to encouraging people to come and enjoy the health
benefits of cycling and creating a safe, easy-to-use route is essential if
we’re going to convince them to leave their cars at home.”